I recently purchased a Pioneer 4270HD TV and I want some type of protection against voltage surges and lightning hits. I see a lot of units at Best Buys, Circuit City. Some extremely expensive, others not so. Could someone give a recommendation for a reasonably priced surge protector that does a good job of protecting my tv and DVD player and not cost me my entire bank account ?

I just bought a Pure AV HT power conditioner at Sams Club today for $70, from what I've seen on the internet that's a good price and this thing looks like it should be pretty substancial. If nothing else I've got a bigger power strip and should provide more conditioning, surge protection, and isolation than the regular surge protector I had before. I'm sorta hoping it takes away some of the grainy picture on my new LCD when watching SD programming.

When we first moved into our new home- I had a electrician run two dedicated 15 amp lines to my AV center {both lines have a surge protector on them} I was concerned about the 1938 electrical wiring being able to keep up with the AV gear demands. My plasma PQ was really good and I like the PQ. Then we had some flickering in the house lights we call PGE and they came out and determine, at the pole, the negative leads were corroded and replaced them. Remembering something I read here at avs about clean power, I immediately turned on the plasma and the PQ was much better. For what it's worth- check the power into you home too. {I didn't hear or test if the stereo sounded better}.
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im redoing my entire room setup and will be purchasing a pioneer 4270 or 940hd. I have an xbox 360,ps3,ps2,xbox,wii,infinity 5.1 stereo system, computer as well as other items such as cell phones, ipod,phone, ac, humidifier etc. Whats the best surge protector to get? Should i purchase more than 1 as i have so many things to plug in? Whats the deal with MOV's? Read from a few sites that they are bad while other sites say they aren't. Please help me out. Thanks

I wouldn't worry about the AC or humidifier. Depending upon what you want the unit(s) to do, you could go very basic by buying like the Stratitec (directron.com) which would handle most of what else you've got. Might need two. OTOH, if you want the device to also have things like switched/unswitched outlets, 12 volt triggers and other things, you'll need something like the shelf/rack mount units from APC, Panamax, Belkin, TrippLite, etc. The former will set you back around 25 or so while the latter you're looking at spending about 10x more.

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I'm not sure about surges but I know we have power outages roughly once a month.

Well, if you want something that will let your system sail through them, you need a UPS. It should also handle brownouts (sags) and surges without interruption. A standard surge protector will only protect, that is, shut down the AC to protect the components.

Well, if you want something that will let your system sail through them, you need a UPS. It should also handle brownouts (sags) and surges without interruption. A standard surge protector will only protect, that is, shut down the AC to protect the components.

I mainly just want the TV to be protected. If brownouts and outages won't hurt it, then I can get a surge protector. I was under the impression that sags were bad for electronics. Is that true?

I don't know whether or not I have "clean" power. How can I tell? What should I look for? I live in Phoenix, AZ. We don't often have power outages. I'm installing a 1080p 50" plasma, surround speakers, receiver, and up-converting DVD player in my family room next week. My HE installer recommends the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Battery Backup with AVR Technology... here's the link:http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=195291

He can get it for $250. What do you think? Is it really necessary? Can I get away with a less expensive surge protector or is the battery back-up and noise reduction a good idea? Will it really make a perceptible difference in picture and audio quality? If you don't think I need the Belkin, what less expensive option do you recommend?